It Takes a Village... Our Ongoing Story

This morning I woke up with a full list of things to do, arrangements to make and thoughts in my head.  By 10:00am I had an almost empty list, arrangements made and a full heart.  I am again thankful for my wonderful community of friends and family.  I look forward to giving back to them all at some point in time.

Late last week my beautiful Grandma Rimmelzwaan passed away.  As I grew up, she was the Grandma I spent the most time with because my Grandma Bloetjes suffered from MS and passed away when I was 13 years old.
I have wonderful memories of my Grandma Rimmelzwaan; playing on the farm as a child, roaming through their farm house, sleepovers, shopping trips, "Grandma's McDonald's", walking her gardens at their farm and then at the home they built for their retirement, playing rummy; the list goes on.  As I became an adult, I noticed that I look a bit like her.  I am always proud of that. Even through my teens, she was there for me.  She and my Grandpa shared a love that I think is so precious... it took them over oceans, through raising children and creating a successful farm and into their ever-expanding family.  No doubt there were challenges but above all they were happy together and it showed.  It will be a tough few days saying good-bye to her.

It is a beautiful day.  I am thankful to all of the people in our lives that continue to help us out when we find ourselves in a "pickle".  Ian and I could not live our lives the way we do without our friends and family.  Thank you.

Bring on the Cousin-Love

One of the sweet treasures we are giving our children is a close relationship to their cousins.  There is nothing like "cousin-love".  There is something special about having cousins that are relatively close in age - they are playmates, confidants, friends... they can be there for you when all you need is a someone close but not too close, someone like a sibling but removed, a "brother" when you may not have one, a sister if you need one.  This is so evident in our own life - Alex is squished in between two sisters and sometimes all he wants is someone to wrestle with (close to his own size), someone to play hockey with or someone to play in the dirt with him.  Jean loves her girl-cousins that she can play "mommies" with or dress-up with that is also close to her age, size and maturity.  Grace is the oldest cousin on both sides of our family but having cousins gives her opportunities to be a leader and caregiver to others.. not just her brother and sister.

Their cousins live near (4 close by so far) and far (4 far away) but distance hasn't stopped them from having fun together when they are together.  I hope this lasts forever for them.  

Sometimes I Just Need to Step Outside of Myself

Have you ever stepped outside of yourself and asked, "Why are you so grumpy?", "What's wrong with you?  You have a great life -stop being so negative!", "Give yourself a break (and your husband to)!"... many questions come to mind.  This morning I woke up doing just that.  I look back at the past few days and I have been grumpy.  Life is busy these days (it's strawberry season at our farm) but seriously LIFE IS GOOD!  Actually it is pretty damn great.  We are enjoying a very good berry crop, summer has just begun and the kids and I are heading out on a vacation this week (more on that later).  I have so much to be thankful for but there are times when I forget that and purposely rain on my own parade.

This morning I pledge to feel grateful.  I wish I could apologize to Ian in person but he has been up since 4:30am working in the field (I really should be very thankful that I don't have to do the same) and deserves a big breakfast!  He is doing such a great job providing for us so that I can stay home with our children and be there for them every day.  Maybe I should also pledge to be good to myself as well and not berate myself so much.  I am doing a good job around here and someday, when the farm isn't so busy, I will get to clean my house and sit down and play with the kids.  It will happen.

For now, I am taking Alex and Jean's to Grandma and Grandpa Garner's for the week and Grace and I are heading out on what should be a fantastic vacation at her dance competition.  I am so thankful to be able to do that for her!

The Boys of Summer

The Girls of Summer

Some Ramblings

 I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I might share what's been happening around here... in pictures.  We have been spending quite a bit of our time (3 evenings a week) at the soccer field.
Grace, Alex and Jean are playing this year and loving it!

Ian is actually coaching Alex's team this year - very exciting for Alex.  I run back and forth from Grace's field to Alex's field to make sure I can watch as much as possible.  These are busy evenings for us but good family time.

We spent a gorgeous Sunday morning at a "Fly-In Breakfast" in
early June.  Even though we stood in line for one hour for breakfast,
it was worth it.  There was a lot to see, a really good breakfast and
we had fun spending time with Sarah, Randy, Noah and Allie.

I was able to volunteer for Alex's school trip to the
Mill of Kintail and these were my two buddies for the
day.  It was a dreary, humid day but we had a
lot of fun playing in the stream and hiking through the forest.

Grace is playing with sweet Charlotte who will be turning ONE very soon!

Our children are so fortunate to be able to spend time with so  many different family
members and GA Janie and GU Bill are really special.  Here Grace practices her
headstand at their cozy little house in the bush.  Great form!

We haven't had enough time at the pool yet but we hope for many, many warm
afternoons to spend there.  This was our first swim of the year at Grandma and
Grandpa's pool and the water was chilly!

There is nothing like a Fun Fair and our school hosts the best one around!

Over the May Long Weekend we were able to spend an afternoon and evening
at the Gallivan-McGregor cottage.

We are into "Market Season" now and Grace has just been
hired by Grandpa Jim to work with him at the
Carp Farmers' Market for the summer.  Here she is on
her first day of work, all ready to go!

This picture represents what early Summer is all about here
at our home:  soccer evenings (notice the shinpads - pink!),
farm market work and having fun in between!  It can be a
tough balance these days and we are tired but we know this is
what it is all about - we work hard to we can play hard!

Finding Love Notes and Other Memories

My day was completely filled up... I don't know about you, but I find that when I'm really busy, I accomplish a lot.  I've always been this way.  The minutes are precious so I fill the moments.  After a full day, while the kids were playing in the bath, I went through my jewelry box - an old relic from my childhood (actually a present from my parents I believe).  I've carried this box with me to every home I have lived in but it is time to retire it away into a cupboard.

It is amazing how random items can just bring back memories.  I found little trinkets I had saved that had value in the memories they evoked, such as a beautiful watch Ian bought for me when we were dating, some gifts of jewelery from special people, a picture of my deceased Grandma Bloetjes, an old friendship ring from a childhood friend, a bracelet from Africa and a little note from a young romance... that was really funny to see!  Made me melt.

That was a note from him!!  I remember him clearly and we had a nice little romance until my family moved away.  I took those precious items, placed them back into my old jewelry box and tucked it nicely away in a drawer.

Here is the final product... nothing special but it works.  Despite how I was ready to put that old thing away, it was full of some nice memories and I had a few giggles and a big smile on my face as I went through it all.  It will be nice to see what ends up in this box in 25 years!

Cousin Love

Cousin-love is very special.  These kiddies are growing up together despite a distance!  We wish we were closer to them every day but we take the great moments when we can.  

This Precious Girl

 

 

4 1/2 years ago we were blessed with this precious little girl.  I have shared her vivaciousness since her birth (which was the first indication of how feisty she can be) and she never ceases to amaze me with her antics.  Last fall she began dance class and she has loved every minute of it.  Her big sister, whom she looks up to adoringly, is a dancer so there was no doubt Jean would be a dancer as well.  

 

This past weekend she performed in her first real dance recital, on a big stage, with lights and beautiful music and, of course, her cute little purple costume.  She left the house very excited and came home exhausted (see above).  Jean always gives her "all" and takes it all in.  She lives her life to the fullest... I often think she knows more than us and maybe she does.  Her short little life started out with her testing the limits so she just might already know how precious life is and that she is going to live her life the fullest.  She gives us more joy and we are so proud of her.  She is truly our tiny little dancer; just come on over and you just might get to see one of her infamous "shows"... so darn cute!